Auburn pulls away for win over Arkansas

By NOAH TRISTERAssociated Press

Sunday

Jan 25, 2009 at 12:01 AM

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Jeff Lebo watched his team breeze to an early lead and put Arkansas away with a smothering finish.Afterward, the Auburn coach seemed concerned — about whether the Tigers truly understood what they'd accomplished."I've been in the league 10 years," Lebo said. "They don't really realize how hard it is to win here."Auburn made it look easy Saturday. Korvotney Barber had 15 points and 18 rebounds, and the Tigers rolled to a 73-51 victory over the slumping Razorbacks. It was Arkansas' most lopsided loss in Bud Walton Arena, which opened during the 1993-94 season.DeWayne Reed scored 16 points for the Tigers, and Tay Waller added 14, including four 3-pointers in the first half. Auburn led 38-31 at halftime, and although the Razorbacks closed to within five with 9:24 remaining, the Tigers outscored them 19-2 the rest of the way. Arkansas went scoreless over the final 6:35."We do apologize to our great, passionate fans because they deserve a lot better. We're hurting. We're definitely hurting," said Arkansas' Stefan Welsh, who became increasingly emotional during the post-game news conference. "Yes, we're playing hard. Yes, we want to win.”Welsh made a 3-pointer on Arkansas’ first trip down the court, but it was Auburn (12-7, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) that put on a first-half shooting clinic, starting 7-of-8 from 3-point range.“When we play on the road, we try to keep the crowd out of the game, and we were able to accomplish that today,” Waller said.Arkansas upset Oklahoma and Texas at home less than a month ago, but the Razorbacks (12-5) have now lost their first four SEC games, and none of them were particularly close. Welsh led Arkansas with 14 points, but big man Michael Washington was held to eight.“We knew we had to double team Washington, and another place we knew we had to control was (point guard Courtney Fortson),” Lebo said.Fortson had 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Arkansas, but he also turned the ball over six times and shot 5-of-17 from the field.The Razorbacks went 5-of-24 from 3-point range. They are shooting only 17 percent from long distance in conference play.Auburn finished 10-of-25 from 3-point range. Reed had six assists and six rebounds to go along with his 16 points. Barber’s 18 rebounds tied a career high.“It was a big SEC road win for us,” Barber said. “Our defense really helped us out.”At 6-foot-7, Barber was Auburn’s tallest starter, but the Tigers were able to stay spread out on offense and build an early lead with 3-point shooting.“When we’re making shots, we’re hard to defend,” Lebo said.Arkansas played without suspended forward Brandon Moore and forward Marcus Monk, a former football player who was held out because of what the school called “a review of an issue that could affect his eligibility.” Both players have been backups, but their absence hurt Arkansas’ depth. Swingman Jason Henry was limited to six minutes by a bad leg.“Our guys are certainly very disappointed,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “I believe in this team. I love the way they work, appreciate their attitude, their willingness to be a team. I’ve seen them overachieve at the highest level.”

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